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A new pipid from the Cretaceous of Africa (In Becetèn, Niger) and early evolution of the Pipidae
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Pipimorpha and its crown-group Pipidae possess one of the most extensive fossil records among anurans, known since the Early Cretaceous in both Laurasia and Gondwana. Pipimorph diversification may have been driven by the breakup of West Gondwana during the Cretaceous. Numerous fossils from South America have been unearthed in the last decade, documenting this event. Unfortunately, Cretaceous pipimorphs from Africa have been limited to a few wellpreserved taxa from sub-Saharan Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, which hinders our comprehension of pipimorph diversification during this key period. The site of In Becetèn, in south-east Niger, is one of the few mid-Late Cretaceous (Coniacian–Santonian) sites from which a pipid, Pachycentrata taqueti, is known. Here, we describe and name a second pipid from the same locality. This taxon is known by a relatively complete braincase. Phylogenetic analyses confirm its position as a pipid, with pipinomorph affinities. This makes In Becetèn the oldest site with at least two pipids. Phylogenetic results are congruent with recent pipimorph relationships, with the presence of an endemic extinct clade in South America, Shelaniinae. The phylogenetic results also allow us to review the proposed definition for Pipimorpha and its subclades and propose new systematic definitions for them. Temporal calibration of the phylogenetic tree based on the fossil record suggests that pipimorphs diversified in a western Gondwana block and confirms that South America separated from Africa around the mid-Cretaceous. Between these two events, pipids diverged in Africa, giving rise to major extant clades. This study highlights the importance of Africa for early pipid diversification during the Cretaceous and of the opening of the Southern Atlantic Ocean for anuran dispersion and diversification.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
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A new species and first record of the cicada genus Sinotympana Lee, 2009 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Dundubiini) from Vietnam
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RBINS Staff Publications 2019
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A new species of Platylomia Stål, 1870 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) from Vietnam, with a key to species
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
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A new species of Actinopyga (Holothuroidea: Aspidochirotida: Holothuriidae)
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Actinopyga is one of the five genera commonly recognised in the family Holothuriidae. This small genus has sixteen species currently considered valid. The present paper describes a new Indo-West Pacific species, Actinopyga caerulea, of which the most striking character is its bluish coloration. The ossicle assemblage of the new species resembles mostly that of A. bannwarthi Panning, 1944 and A. flammea Cherbonnier, 1979.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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A new species of Bananellodes Strand, 1928 from Namibia (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Tropiducidae).
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RBINS Staff Publications
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A new species of Bothriembryon (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Bothriembryontidae) from southeasternmost Western Australia
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RBINS Staff Publications 2016
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A new species of Calvisia (Calvisia) from Thailand and Myanmar and notes on C. (Calvisia) sangarius from Peninsular Malaysia (Phasmida, Lonchodidae, Necrosciinae)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
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A new species of Drapetis Meigen from calcareous grassland in southern Netherlands (Diptera, Hybotidae, Tachydromiinae)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
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A new species of Groenlandaspis Heintz, 1932 (Placodermi, Arthrodira) from the Famennian (Late Devonian) of Belgium
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A new species of the phlyctaeniid arthrodire genus Groenlandaspis from the upper Famennian of Belgium is described. The remains of Groenlandaspis potyi sp. nov. consist of dissociated thoracic armor elements, but the specimen designed to be the holotype displays the median dorsal, anterior and posterior dorsolateral plates in connection. Though incomplete, the new species is characterized by an equilateral triangle-shaped median dorsal plate, a protruding posterodorsal apron of the posterior dorsolateral plate behind the overlap area for the median dorsal plate, and an overall lack of ornamentation. Groenlandaspis potyi sp. nov. constitutes the second occurrence of a Groenlandaspis species in continental Europe after the description of Groenlandaspis thorezi from upper Famennian quarries of Belgium. Another probable new species of Groenlandaspis is also described, though of unknown locality and horizon; it can however be deduced from the upper Famennian of Belgium without more precision. Together with some unpublished material of groenlandaspidids from the Famennian tetrapod-bearing locality of Strud, this material highlights the richness of the Groenlandaspididae diversity in Belgium. The discovery of Groenlandaspis potyi sp. nov. in Belgium reinforces the Famennian global distribution of this widespread genus during this period. Also, since those organisms have possibly been considered as non;marine indicators, this material is another argument pleading for close relationships between Euramerica and Gondwana around the Frasnian-Famennian boundary.
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A new species of Holothuria (Aspidochitotida, Holothuriidae) from Kenya
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A new species, Holothuria (Mertensiothuria) arenacava (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea) from the littoral waters of Kenya is described. This species is characterized by its sand-burrowing behaviour, its small tentacles, the variously developed tables, corpuscules, buttons, plates and rods in the tube feet, and by the smooth, spiny and knobbed rods in the tentacles.
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